Motor-vehicle



Patented May 2, |899.

J. N. FDRBES.

MOTUR VEHICLE.

(Application mad June 25, 189'7.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Mndel.)

@Mmmm-uu @Hof/nag No. 624,3!9. Patented May 2, |899.

J. N. FORBES.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

(Application led June 25, 1897.)

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

No. 624,3I9.

Patented May 2, |a99.` J. N. FORBES.

.MOTOR VEHICLE.

(Application tiled June 25, 1897.]

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

S gnou/vbo@ atroz/nz? ru: nonms E1-Ens ce, ware-urna. wnsnmmu D c NITED STATES' PATENT. OFFICE.

JOSEPH N. FORBES, OF'OROMANTON, FLORIDA.

SPECIFICATION nilg part bf Letters Patent No. 624,319, dated vray 2, 1899.

Applioatin tiled Tune 25, 1897. Serial No. 642,270. (No model.)

To @ZZ ywhom, it may con/cern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH N. FORBES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oromanton, in the county of Calhoun and State of Florida, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Horseless Carriages; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

r[his invention relates to improvements in motor or horseless carriages, and more particularly to the manner of gearing the driving-shaft to the ground-wheels, the invention contemplating a construction by which the. body of the vehicle carries the engines and is spring-supported to take up jolts or jars, the

driving mechanism being geared and arranged in such manner as to permit a rocking movement of the body, as well as allow both the front and rear wheels to be turned.

in rounding a corner, and for throwing the driving-shaft into gear with the shafts or axles ofthe ground-wheels to propel the vehicle either forward or backward.

The object of the invention is to provide simple, cheap, and durable mechanism for accomplishing the above ends; and it consists in th-e construction and combination of the parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth,

Aand particularly pointed out in the claims.

6 is a front view of the running-gear and driving mechanism carried' thereby. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view showing the manner of connecting the engines to the main shaft of the driving mechanism. Fig. 8 is a bottom view of the running-gear of the vehicle.

The numeral 1 designates the body of the vehicle, which may be of any suitable construction or style. The drawings illustrate the coach having a canopy-top, with a seating capacity for six or more. The front and rear of this body are undercut, as shown in Fig. 1, to permit the ground-wheel to pass under the same in making a short turn.

2 2 designate the longitudinal reach-bars of the running-gear,which are rigidly connected to the front and rear hounds 3 and 4, the said hounds being secured at their ends to cylindrical casings 5 and t', respectively, said casings being mounted upon similar casings 7 and 8, mounted upon the front and rear axles of the groundwheels. The bearingsurfaces of the .upper and lower casings are constructed to receive ant-ifriction-rollers 9, and the stub-axles of the ground-wheels pass into said casi-rigs and are journaled in ball'- bearings formed therein. By this construction the ground-wheels will be permitted to have independent movement with respect to the rnnning-gear, the body of the vehicle being mounted upon said running-gear, so as to have the ordinary rocking or spring movement thereon. Any style of spring may be interposed between the body andrunning-gear, and when the ordinarycoil-spring :isemployed the casings 5 and 6 are provided centrally with uprghts ilO, as shown in the drawings; butit will be understood that the ordinary elliptical springs .may be used and their ends rest vin suitable clips attached to the said casings. The body of the vehicle is further connected to the running-gear byV depending cornerbrackets 11,which fit at the intersection of the reachrbars 2 and hounds 3 and 4, these parts being connected by bolt and nut l2, which "passes through a slot 13 in the bracket 11, or

said slot may be located in the running-gear instead, this permitting spring movement of thebody with respect to the running-gear.

14 designates the main shaft of the driving mechanism, which extends at the center of the vehicle between the hounds 3 and 4, upon which it is journaled'byany approved antifriction-bearing. This shaft extends beyond the hounds at each end, and at its forward end has mounted thereon a gear-wheel having bevel-teeth 15 and 16, the teeth 15 engaging bevel-wheels 17 and 18, mounted on a transverse shaft 19, bearing at its ends in the upper casings 5 at the forward 4end of the vehicle. The shaft 19 is provided at its ends IOO with bevel-pinions 20, located within the casings 5, and these bevel-pinions engage the upper teeth of a double bevel-Wheel 21,mount ed horizontally in the casings the lower teeth of said bevel-wheels meshing with bevelpinions 22 on the stub-axles 23 of the front supporting-Wheels. The preferred manner of supporting the horizontal bevel-wheels 21 is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which the cover of each casing 5 is provided with a depending boss 24, having a central threaded recess to receive a spindle 25, alateral pin or set-screw 26 holding the said spindle against rotation. The head of this spindle and adjoining bearing-surface of the bevel-wheel may be provided with cones to form bearings for interposed balls. By gearing the main driving-shaft 14 to the axles of the supporting-wheels in the manner hereinbefore described the said supporting-wheels will be driven forward or backward, according to which bevel-wheels 17 and 1S are in mesh with the teeth 15 of the bevel gearwheel mounted on said driving-shaft, and in order to throw the shaft 19 in engagement with either one of the bevel-wheels 17 and 1S the said shaft is provided between said bevel-wheels with a sleeve 27, in sliding engagement with the shaft by the ordinary groove and spline, the ends of said sleeve having clutch-sections 28, adapted to engage clutch-faces formed 011 the said bevel-wheels.

This sleeve is connected to an ordinary lever within reach of the driver or motorman, by which the sleeve can beshifted to engage one or the other of the bevel-wheels 17 and 18, or to an intermediate point to let the drivingwheels run free. It will also be noted that by gearing the shaft 19 to thehorizontal bevelwheels 21 and said bevel-wheels vto the pinions on the stub-axles the supporting-wheels will be allowed to turn, and in so doing the said pinions will ride upon the said bevelwheels.

The rear end of lthe main driving-shaft 14 has mounted thereon a bevel-wheel 28', which meshes with the bevel-wheels 29 and 30 on a transverse shaft 31, corresponding with the shaft 19 hereinbefore referred to and bearing in the upper casings 6 at the rear end of the vehicle. The ends of this shaft 31 are provided with bevel-pinions 32, in mesh with a horizontally-disposed double bevel-wheel 33, the latter meshing with pinions on the stubaXles of the rearsupporting-wheels, said stu baXles bearing in the casings S. The shaft 31 between the gear-wheels 29 and 30 and having clutch-sections to engage said wheels, and

the means which operate the clutch at the forward part of the machine so that they will both be shifted in unison.

As hereinbefore stated, the supportingwheels of the vehicle will bepermitted to have an independent movement with respect to the 5 running-gear by reason of the two-part casl ings turning one upon the other, and in order to turn the casi-ugs simultaneously in the operation of steeringor turning the Vehicle each lower casing is provided With a segment-rack 35. The segment-racks extending from the casings at one end of the vehicle are connected to the segment-racks at the other end by rods 36 and 37, each rod connecting a casing or wheel on one side of the vehicle with the casing or wheel on the other side and at the opposite end. At the forward end of the vehicle to have a bearing in-the runnin g-gear is a Vertical shaft 38, upon the lower end of which is mounted a gear-wheel39, in mesh with the rack-bars on the ends of the rods 36 and 37, as shown in detail` in Fig. 8, the said rackbars in turn meshing with the segment-racks attached to the movable casings-of the forward supporting-wheels. The' upper endl of the shaft 3S has ahand-wheel located in front of the'driver, by which the said gear-wheel is turned to move the'wheels with respect to the running-gear in making a turn. By this. arrangement the turning of the ha-nd-wheel in one direction will turn the forward wheels to guide the vehicle either to the right or to the left, and by means of the-connecting-rods 36 and 37 the rearsupporting-wheels will also be moved to assistin the turn, the last-men tion ed wheels being turnedv at an angle with respect to the forward wheels.

The main driving-shaft 14, hereinbefore lmentioned, is driven from an engine or motor of any approved construction using either electricity, gas, or compressed air. In Fig. 7 of the drawings I have 4shown the manner of connectingthe engine to the mainshaft,

rwhich consists in providing a vertical shaft `40, having a pinion 41 in mesh with the teeth 16 of the double bevel-wheel on said shaft 14, and the upper end of this vertical shaft 40 passes through a pinion 42suitably supportedand geared to the pinion 43, projecting from a shaftv of a conica-l friction-wheel 44. The conical friction-wheel 44 is adapted to be thrown in contact with a similar wheel 45 on ythe manner of connecting one of the engines thereto. I lay no'claimA to the motors or engines for driving the vehicle, as my said in- `vention relates to the manner of gearing or arranging the driving mechanism with respect to the supporting-wheels. is also provided with a sleeve 34, interposed By providing the vertical shaft 40 so that it will be slid throughv the pinion 42 any vertical movement of the body of the vehicle this latter clutch mechanism is connected to of the vehicle to have a rocking movement on the springs said shaft 40 has a knuckle-joint, as shown.

From the foregoing description, in connection .with the accompanying drawings, the

lOO

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construction and operation of my improved gearing for motor-carriages will be readily understood, and it will be noted that I provide a simple and durable construction which permits the vehicle to be built comparatively light, the mechanism also providing for making a short turn, as well as for quickly reversing the direction of the vehicle. The construction also provides an increased security against overturning, since the groundbearingis not appreciably lessened when making short turns.

n Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isp 1. In a motor-carriage, the combination with the running-gear, of a transverse shaft having gear-wheels loosely mounted thereon and in mesh with a gear-wheel driven from the motor, a clutch interposed between the gear-wheels on the transverse shaft and adapted to be thrown in engagement therewith, pinions at the ends of the transverse shaft, bearings adapted to turn with respect to the runninggear and carrying the stub-axles upon which the supporting-Wheels are mounted, pinions on said axles and interposed gear- Wheels connecting the pinions to the transverse shaft, substantially as shown and for the purpose set-forth.

2. In a motor carriage the combination with the runninggear, of casings secured thereto, casings connected to the aforesaid casings to Vturn With respect thereto, the latter carrying the stub-axles upon which the supportingwheels are mounted; together with a transverse shaft supported in the stationary casings and driven` from the motor, pinions on said transverse shaft, and interposed horizontal gear-wheels connecting the aforesaid pinions, substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

`3. In a motor-carriage, the combination with the runnin g-gear, of a longitudinal shaft mounted thereon and providedlat its ends with bevel-Wheels, transverse shafts supported by the running-gear and having bevelwheels loosely mounted thereon and in gear with the bevel-Wheels of the 4longitudinal shaft, sleeves interposed between the bevelwheels and having clutch-faces which engage therewith; together with movable bearings for the stub-axles of the supporting-wheels, pinions on said stub-axles, and horizontallydisposed gear-wheels connecting said pinions to pinions on the transverse shafts, substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a motorcarriage, the combination with the running-gear, of casings 5 and 6 rigidly secured thereto, casings 7 and 8 connected to the aforesaid casings and having interposed ball-bearings, transverse shafts supported in the stationary casings and driven from a suitable motor, said shafts having pinionslocated within said casings; together with stub-axles upon which the supporting-wheels are mounted bearing in the movable casings, pinions mounted on said stub-axles, and a horizontal gear-wheel supportedby either the stationary or movable casings so as to connect the shafts and stub-axles, substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

5. In .a motor carriage, the combination with the running-gear, of casings 5 and 6 rigidly secured thereto, casings 7 and 8 connected to the aforesaid casings and having interposed ball-bearings, transverse shafts, supported in the stationary casings and driven from a suitable motor, said shafts having pinions located within said casings, stub-axles for the supporting-wheels journaled in the movable casings and provided with a pinion, and horizontal gear-wheels connecting the stub-axles to the transverse shafts; together with segment-racks projecting from the movable casings, rods extending across the vehicle to connect the wheels on one side with the wheels at the opposite end of the other side, a gear-Wheel in mesh with said segment-racks, and means for turning said gear-wheels, substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a motor-carriage, the combination with the running-gear having a horizontal shaft in mesh with the supporting-wheels, a-

body supported upon springs resting on the running-gear, brackets or braces. depending from the body and connected to the runninggear by bolts which engage slots therein; together with the jointed vertical shaft 39 having a gear-Wheel in mesh with a gear-Wheel on the horizontal shaft, and a gear-Wheel carried by the body of the vehicle to slide upon the upper end of the vertical shaft, the lastmentioned gear-wheel being driven from a suitable motor, substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.`

JOSEPH N. FORBES.

Witnesses:

ELIAS AYARs, H. M. SPICER. 

